Collapsible crate.



' A. J. & W. H. BODKER.

COLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED 11.9, 1912.

Patented June 10, 1913.

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GOLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED 11.9, 1912.

1,064,601 Patented June 10, 1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT J. BODKER AND WILLIAM H. BODKER, OF PONCHATOULA, LOUISIANA.

COLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10,1913.

Application filed April 9, 1912. Serial No. 689,490.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, ALBERT J. BODKER andWILLIAM H. BODKER, citizens of the United States, residing atPonchatoula, in the parish of Tangipahoa and State of Louisiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Crates, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to collapsible crates adapted when set up tobe used for containing articles of commerce as, for in stance, bread,etc.

The object of the invention is to provide a crate which may be easilyand readily collapsed and the parts thereof effectually secured whenbeing returned, or should it be desired to retain the crate in limitedspace.

With these objects in view, the crate consists of side, top, bottom andend panels, all of which may be swung down into closed relation withrespect to each other, and securing devices which will hold the parts incollapsed position and which may also be used to hold the parts inset-up position.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the crate in set-up position; Fig. 2is a transverse sectional view of the same; Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof the crate with parts in collapsed position; Fig. 4 is a longitudinalsectional view of the same.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawingsby the same reference characters.

The crate includes a bottom panel 1 to the ends of which are hingedlyattached end panels 2. The bottom panel is provided with a cleat 17 atone end to which one of the end panels 2 is hinged, so that when the endpanels are folded inwardly they lie directly upon each other asindicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The bottom panel 1 has attached toits corner portions plates 3, and each of these plates is provided witha slot 1 which is disposed with its long dimension approximatelyparallel with the plane of the bottom panel 1 and spaced above the same.The plates 3 at the back of the crate are somewhat longer verticallythan the plates 3 at the forward portion of the crate so that the slotsof the back plates are spaced a greater distance from the bottom thanthe front plates to permit the back panel to fold over the front panelwhen the parts are arranged as in Fig. 3. Front and back side panels 5and 6 are provided at their ends with pins 7 and 8, respectively, whichextend through the slots 4 of the forward and back plates Hooks 9 arepivoted upon the ends of the forward and back panels 5 and 6 and areadapted to engage pins 10 mounted upon the end panels 2 to lock thecrate in open position. A top panel 11 is hingedly connected with theback panel 6 and is provided with the pivoted hasp 12 adapted when thecrate is in set-up position to engage a keeper 13 upon the front panel5. The front panel 5 is provided at the corners at its upper edge withangular metallic strips 14., which eX tend above the panel and areadapted to receive between them the free end portions of the corners ofthe top panel 11, and the end panels 2 are provided at their upper edgeswith metallic strips 15 which project above the outer edges of the endpanels and are adapted to receive between them the end edges of the toppanel 11. The back panel 6 is provided at its lower edge with a staple16 which is adapted to be engaged by the hasp 12 when the parts are inknock-down position, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

When the parts of the crate are in set-up position and the crate isclosed, they appear as illustrated in Fig. 1, in which the end portions2 are disposed approximately at a right angle to the bottom panel 1 andfit closely between the front and back panels 5 and 6, the said frontand back panels being held in close relation to the end panels by meansof the hooks 9 which engage the pins 10 upon the said end panels. Theedges of the top panel 11 rest down upon the upper edges of the end andfront panels and are received between the plates 14 and 15, and the hasp12 engages the staple 13. At this time the pins 7 and 8 upon the frontand back panels are at the outer ends of the slots 4 of the plates 3with the lower edges of the front and back panels bearing upon the frontand back portions of the bottom panel.

\Vhen it is intended to collapse the crate for return or other purposes,the top panel 11 is swung back over the back panel 6, the hooks 9 aredisengaged from the pins 10, and the end panels 2 are swung down uponthe bottom panel 1. When in this position the end panels 2 overlap eachother as indicated in Fig. 3. The front panel 5 is then swung down overthe overlapped end panels and the back panel 6 with the folded top panel11 are swung down over the front panel 5. The panels 5 and 6 are thenmoved 1n an edge-wise direction so that the pins 7 and 8 come in contactwith the inner ends of the slots 4, and this brings the edges of all ofthe panels approximately into vertical alinement, and, therefore, whenthe parts of the crate are in knocked-down positions there are no edgeportions projecting beyond the general perimeter of the structure.

While the crate as illustrated is especially adapted to be used for thetransportation of bread, it is to be understood that. the same structuremay be employed for containing other articles, as, for instance,chickens and the like.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A crate comprising a bottom panel, plates arranged in pairs andattached to the corner portions of the bottom panel and extending abovethe same, each plate having a slot extending parallel to the plane ofthe bottom panel and spaced above the same, a front panel having pinsextending respectively through the slots of one pair of said plates, arear panel having pins extending through the slots of the other pair ofsaid plates, end panels hingedly connected to the bottom panel andfoldable inwardly and bearing between the front and back panels andagainst the plates when in open position, corner plates connected to thefront panel and extending above the same, bearing plates connected tothe end panels and extending above the same, and a top panel hingedlyconnected to the back panel and bearing upon the upper edges of thefront and back panels and the end panels and be hind the corner platesand the bearing plates.

2. A crate comprising a bottom panel, a front panel movably connected tothe bottom panel and foldable inwardly, a back panel movably coupled tothe bottom panel and foldable inwardly, corner members connected to thefree ends of the front panel and extending above the same, end panelsmovably connected to the bottom panel and foldable inwardly, guardplates connected to the free edges of the end panels and extending abovethe same, and a top movably coupled to the rear panel and bearing uponthe upper edges of the front and end panels and against the inner facesof the corner members and of the plates of the end members.

3. A crate comprising a bottom panel, a front panel movably connected tothe bottom panel and foldable inwardly, a back panel movably coupled tothe bottom panel and foldable inwardly, corner members connected to thefree ends of the front panel and extending above the same, end panelsmovably connected to the bottom panel and foldable inwardly, guardplates connected to the free edges of the end panels and ex tendingabove the same, a top movably coupled to the rear panel and bearing uponthe upper edges of the front and end panels and against the inner facesof the corner members and of the plates of the end members, pinsprojecting from the end panels, hooks connected to the front panel. andto the back panel and engaging over the pins when the panels are in openposition, and means for fastening the free edge of the top to the frontpanel.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

ALBERT J. BODKER. WILLIAM H. BODKER.

Copies of this patent may le obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

